Toilet appliance



Dec. 26, 1939. G. E. MCLOUGHLIN TOILET APPLIANCE 5 Sheets-Shet 1 Filed Nov. 17, 1937 3 GUEIMCLO n g/91in 60 (PK G. E. M' LOUGHLIN TOILET APPLIANCE Dec. 25,1939.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 17, 19:57

3wc/nt yn afilllcllauyklin Dec. 26, 1939. e. E. MCLOUGHLIN TOILET APPLIANCE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 3mm 9% Zz'n i 6 Ito/0 M,

GEMZ/ou Filed Nov. 17, 1937 Patented Dec. 26, 1939 ram Prise TOILET APPLIANCE GeorgeE. McLoughlin, Philadelphia, Pa. Application November 17, 1937, Serial No. 175,130

2 Claims.

The invention relates to toilet or lavatory appliances or equipment and has for its general object the provision of a wash bowl or basin with or without a cabinet attached thereto which is movably mounted with respect to the wall so as to be pulled into position convenient for use by a person seated upon the toilet, the ideabeing that such person may washhis hands prior to adjusting his clothing or may-shave and wash his face as well as his hands, thereby making it possible to perform all the various operations at once, thus saving time in so far as he himself is personally concerned and reducing the length of time that others wishing to gain access to the room may be compelled to wait.

An important object of the invention is to provide an appliance of this character which, in one form, may be moved upwardly entirely out of the way, this being advantageous in the event of very close quarters or cramped space.

Another object is to provide an appliance of this character which may normally be disposed at a considerable distance from the toilet itself for ordinary use and in the event that a so-called medicine cabinet is associated with the movable basin such cabinet either alone or togetherwith the basin may have its position shifted so as to be substantially parallel with the wall as is customary, in addition to being movable to face a person seated upon the toilet when the position of the device is shifted for use by a person seated thereon.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which may be movably mounted in any selected one of a number of different ways, for instance by being disposed for vertical sliding movement, horizontal sliding movement combined with horizontal rotation, horizontal sliding movement without rotation or a purely pivotal movement brought about by the provision of toggle links.

An additional object is to provide a device of this character which will be simple and inexpensive to manufacture, easy to assemble and install, easy to adjust'or shift, time and space saving, efficient in action, durable. in service, and a general improvement in theart.

To the attainment of the foregoingand other objects and advantages, the invention preferably consists in the details of construction and the arrangement and combination of parts to be here'- inafter more fully described and claimed, and ilustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

5 Figure 1 isa top plan view of one tormof the toilet, the wall of the room being shown in section,

Figure 2 is a vertical cross sectional View taken on the line 22 of Figure l, v

Figure 3 is a face View of the device, that is to say looking toward the wall' upon which it is mounted and with the cabinet shown in one position by full lines and in normal position by dotand dash lines,

Figure 4 is a horizontal section through the wall of the room showing a plan View of a second form of the device mounted for horizontal sliding and horizontal pivotal movement, v

Figure 5 is an elevation looking toward the wall upon which the device is mounted,

Figure 6 is a cross section taken on the line 66- of Figure 5,

Figure 7 is a plan view of another form of the device mounted for horizontal sliding movement but in which there is no pivotal movement,

Figure 8 is a plan view of yet another form of the invention showing a pivoted link mounting therefor combined with'vertical sliding.

Referring more particularly to the drawings and especially Figures 1 to 3, the letter A designates one wall of a lavatory and B represents the usual toilet bowl, details of which as regards the tank and/or flush valves, etc. are not given as they form no part of the present invention.

The form of the device shown in these figures comprises a vertically extending rail or track ll! mounted in any suitable brackets ll projecting from the wall A. Slidably mounted for movement along this track or rail is a bracket l2 carrying a wash basin l3 equipped with hot and cold water spigots Hi and I5 and a drain l6,'all of which are respectively connected by flexible hoses I1, l8 and IS with stationary pipes 20, El and 22 coming up through the floor, the waste pipe 22 having the usual P-trap or goose-neck 23 therein as is customary;

Pivoted upon the bracket l2 as for instance by means of a bolt 25 is a shelf 25 carrying a cabinet 26 within which toilet articles, shaving equipment, medicines, etc. may be disposed in the usual manner, this cabinet having the custo mary door 21 provided with a mirror 28 and preferably carrying an electric light 29 at its top which is particularly useful when shaving. The shelf 25 carying the cabinet 2% is swingable ina horizontal plane about the bolt 2 so astobe disposed parallel with the walLA or atright angles thereto, the latter position being shown in Figures l and 2 and also by full lines in Figure 3 and the former position being indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 3. The selected adjusted position may be maintained by tightening up on a wing nut 30 on the upper end of the bolt 24.

In order to facilitate vertical movement of the bowl and cabinet carried thereby from a more or less overhead position out of the way into a lowered position ready for use either in the normal manner or by a person seated upon the toilet, I provide a rope or cable 3| connected at one end with the bracket l2, trained over one or more guide pulleys 32 mounted at an opening in the wall and carrying a counterbalancing weight 33. By virtue of this construction movement will be very simple.

In the use of this form of the device the bowl and cabinet may be slid upwardly along the rail or bar Iii so as to be in an overhead position entirely out of the way giving ample head room in case of extremely cramped quarters. When normal use of the device is desired it may be pulled down by the simple expedient of reaching up and grasping either the edge of the bowl or the drain hose and pulling it down in a position which will be convenient. At such time the normal proposition is to swing the cabinet 25 so that it will be parallel with the wall A and out of the way of the bowl and behind the user to gain free access thereto. Moreover, the parallel relation of the cabinet and mirror to the wall will make use of the mirror convenient. In case a person is in a hurry he may, while seated on the toilet, or prior to that, pull the bowl l3 downwardly with the cabinet 26 swung into a position at right angles to the wall as shown so that prior to adjusting his clothing he may wash his hands or so that while still seated on the toilet he may perform the usual ablutions, shave, comb his hair, etc., the bowl being at such time within very convenient reach. After such use the bowl may simply be pushed upwardly out of the way.

As an alternative, resort may be had to the construction shown in Figures 4, and 6 wherein the lavatory wall C carries a horizontal trackway 34 extending to points adjacent and in advance of the bowl D, this trackway being of any desired or preferred cross sectional configuration. Slidably mounted for horizontal movement along this trackway is a carriage 35 upon which is pivoted, as by means of a bolt 35 and wing nut 31, or their equivalent, an arm 38 carrying a lavatory basin 39 equipped with the usual hot and cold water spigots 49 and 4! and drain pipe 42. Likewise mounted upon the arm, or at the side of the basin is a cabinet 43 equipped with a mirrored door 46 and light 45 exactly as in the first form of the invention.

This second mentioned form of the device, being horizontally slidable, may be slid or moved by the occupant of the toilet bowl or seat to be in a convenient position for washing and/or shaving at which time it is apparent that the arm 38 carrying the basin 39 should logically extend at right angles from the wall C, with the cabinet and its mirrored door facing the person as shown by full lines in Figure 4. For ordinary or normal use it is readily apparent that the wing nut 3'! may be loosened so that the arm carrying the basin may be swung upon the pivot bolt 36 into the position shown by dotted lines in Figure 4 whereupon the basin will be closer to the wall and the cabinet immediately adjacent thereto for purposes of. convenience.

As a matter of fact it is conceivable that other alternatives may be adopted, for example as shown in Figure '7, wherein there is provided a carriage 46 slidable along a horizontal trackway 41 and carrying an arm 48 which is rigid instead of pivoted and which carries a wash basin 49 and also a cabinet 50.

In some instances it may be preferred to mount upon the wall a bracket 5| upon which is suita'bly pivoted at 52 a link 53 to which in turn is pivoted, at 54, a second link 55 pivotally connected at 56 with a further bracket 51 carrying the basin 58 which in turn has an extension 59 upon which is mounted a cabinet 60.

It should of course be understood that in all the various modifications the usual spigots are provided and that there must necessarily be flexible hose connections between the same and the hot and cold water supply pipes as well as a flexible hose connection between the basin drain hole and the drain pipe rising from the floor. These details are so obvious that it is not believed necessary to repeat them in connection with each and every form of the invention.

In all forms of the invention it will at once be apparent that the wash basin may be disposed closely against the wall for ordinary use but that it may, when such is desired, be moved into a position very convenient to an occupant of the toilet seat. This will naturally be of considerable benefit in the event of illness, particularly as it will enable such person to cleanse his hands before adjusting his clothing, especially in the case of mishap, and as it will also be a considerable time saver as such person may not only do his necessary washing but also shave, comb his hair and perform such other necessary personal services in a remarkably short time, something which should be of advantage particularly in boarding houses and other places of a more or less similar nature where there may be many waiting to gain access to the bath room.

The invention is very simple in all of its forms and can be installed at but comparatively slight cost and will be also a space saver as even a remarkably small bath room or lavatory may be equipped with the device and yet afford perfect comfort and convenience for all those having occasion to use it. It is really believed that from the above description the construction and advantages of the device, in any of its forms, will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art without further explanation.

While I have shown and described several preferred forms of the invention, it should be distinctly understood that the disclosure is merely an exemplification of the principles involved as the right is reserved to make all such changes in the details of construction as will widen the field of utility and increase the adaptability of the device provided such changes constitute no departure from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. In a lavatory or toilet room equipped with the usual flush bowl or toilet, a unit consisting of a wash basin and an article cabinet, said unit being movably mounted upon a wall of the room for disposition in selected positions, one of which is immediately adjacent and in front of the flush bowl for use by one occupying the same, said basin and cabinet unit being slidable and swingable in a horizontal direction along the wall.

2. ,In a lavatory or toilet room equipped with the usual flush bowl or toilet, a unit consisting zontal direction with respect to the wall upon which it is mounted and maintained in a predetermined elevated position by means of a counterbalancing element.

GEORGE E. McLOUGI-ILIN. I 

